Saturday, October 30, 2010

Taken and Needing Rescuing

Over in Genesis 15:1 - The "these things" speaks of the events of the prior chapter - namely the capture and rescue of Lot and the citizens of Sodom by Abram, as well as the treatment of Abram by the King of Sodom and his treatment of Melchizedek.


The point here being that Lot, in his disobedience, was taken and needed rescuing. God did not protect him and his family. But, once that situation was resolved, God reassures Abram that, in his covenanted relationship with his God, he could rest assured that God would protect and be a shield to Che and his family as He had already promised.

We cannot pass Genesis 15:11 without noting that Abram spent the afternoon waiting for God's good pleasure and in keeping the birds of prey off of the offering set out in preparation for the later sacrifice. The obvious intent here is the offering stay undefiled in preparation for what was coming.

Further, in verse 2, note that the "great" (meaning 'profound') and 'Dreadful' (awe-inspiring or stimulating worship) FOLLOWS the fact that Abram fell deeply asleep. what I mean is that we are not talking about the fact Abram is merely having a frightening dream - it is something far more profound than that. The experience is one that is akin to Isaiah's when he saw the Lord in Isaiah 6. Here, like there, Abram is not seeing a Christophany, a "gentled" appearance of God as we frequently see in the OT. This is the Holy and fearsome God Whose very approach can strike terror into the heart of men.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Job 10:1-2 - A Plea to God

Job 10:1-2 1 “I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. 2 I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me.
The great danger of trial is discontent and it's resultant anger.it is what occurs when we dwell on the circumstances of life, the particulars to the exclusion of all else. This is what has happened to Job. The result is that perspective gets skewed, and the further along it proceeds, the further the skew slews...to one side or the other. That skewed perspective drives one to think and say things that, in anchor, more objective context, one would not say or even think. This is surely the case with Job.

Under other circumstances, Job would be able to reason his way through the situation his is in and come to the proper conclusion. But because Job allowed himself to be overcome (and it was a matter of him allowing himself to be overcome - it was a choice he made to yield to his flesh) by the variety things that have intruded themselves into his thus far, his normal perspective has become impossible at this point, and another, ungodly perspective, has thrust itself into the fore, as expressed in verse 2.

Rather than being held accountable by God and answering to Him as His servant; he calls God to account and makes the critical mistake of charging Him with evil and insisting that God had mistreated him and dealt with him unjustly.

3 Does it seem good to you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the designs of the wicked?
Again, we note the charging of God with evil. Job he calls God to account for the evil that is present in his life, not just implying that God is responsible, but that He is the direct agent of the calamity that has occurred. This is the argument, no, the accusation and expression of temper he makes for the rest of this chapter as well as for a considerable part of the rest of the his own part of the book, at least until God Himself speaks up at the end of the book.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Lot Begins to Pay the Price

Genesis 14:12 12
They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
Here we see Lot (and his family) beginning to pay the price for the decision made earlier to separate from Abraham and go his own way and settle in Sodom. In so doing, he also separated himself from the protection and blessing of Abraham's God. The result is that when these Kings seek to expand their kingdoms, God has no reason, Covenantally, to intervene and protect Lot. Abraham is the object of God's promises here, not Lot, much as that does NOT make sense to and our NT manner of thinking. This is not the NT - it is the OT and functions in a practical sense, in that OT fashion.

Genesis 14:13 
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner.
These were allies of Abram. Just a note to observe that this "escape" could not have been and should NLT be construed to have been by happenstance. In spite of Lot's deliberate and, (evident from later Scripture) persistent disobedience and his increasing slide into depravity though still a believer and, as Hebrews 11 tells us, an example of faith for us, God makes provision to see that he is rescued! How marvelous and merciful a God we serve - who cars for us, despite our faithlessness and sin!

Genesis 14:21-24 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself. ”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich. ’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share. ”
In contrast to Abraham's remarks to Melchizedek, the King of Sodom's remarks to Abraham are surly and rude. For someone who has just been delivered from servitude or worse, he is ungracious and expresses no gratitude. Remembering that God has promised that promised that He will bless those bless Him and curse those curse Him, such behavior is ominous at best!